Jessica Wagner on Richie-Arrested Justice

Blog Post 1 on Richie’s Arrested Development

 

Part 1:

            Throughout this piece, Beth Richie expresses her frustration caused by prison nation, the aspects of society that use the power of law, public policy, and institutional practices in conniving and tactical manners to diminish efforts made by those who do not fit the norm of our hegemonic/patriarchal society. I felt exceptionally moved by all of the points Richie included in this piece, however I was most interested in her explanation of the interaction of political dynamics of a prison nation with racial, class, and gender stigmas that often leave women of color (especially Black women) to be treated as criminals instead of victims in abusive situations.

Part 2:

 The “Introduction” of Arrested Justice helped me to better understand the methods used by American institutions and individuals to advance hegemonic ideas and to dehumanize innocent women of color. The part of Richie’s piece that most enriched my understanding of prison nation is the story of the police brutality Mrs. B faced because of her race and gender. The sexual harassment, beatings, threats, and stalking by Chicago police officers brought up feelings of anger, frustration and shame within myself because incidences like this have been occurring in my city without the general population’s knowledge of these hate crimes. I also felt extreme disappointment in the lack of response from social justice groups and law enforcement that were designed to help in situations such as this. What’s the point of promoting services that were meant to help civilians during situations of rape and sexual assault when these very programs decide to turn their back on those who need them most?

After reading this piece by Richie, I can empathize with the information she provided on the lack of effort to reduce violence against Black women. Underprivileged, marginalized communities are constantly limited by practices that punish those who break the traditional norms (such as Tanya’s teen pregnancy or the Jersey 4’s refusal to be passive), intimidated into conforming with prevailing cultural expectations (shown in the story of Mrs. B’s harassment by the police), and are provided with few, restrictive opportunities for cultural development. These stories made me feel aggravated because in most cases, there is very little being done to bring justice to women of color who go through this harassment, abuse, and neglect on a regular basis.

Part 3:

            I decided to focus on the story of Mrs. B for my reflection in part 2 because I’m not blind to the harassment, beatings, and belittlement of people of color, specifically black women, by white law officers. Although I’m aware of this issue, I did not at all expect to read a story like Mrs. B’s. These white men literally tore her apartment apart, sexually harassed her, harassed her son, and caused her to live in fear and isolation for the remainder of her time living in public housing. To add on to her daily fears, Mrs. B had to protect herself from the very people who should have been ensuring her safety as a member of the community. Unfortunately, many other African American women living in low-income neighborhoods share a fear similar to Mrs. B’s. In a report by CNN, a homeless Black woman was severely beaten by a white officer at a Georgia gas station after he witnessed her begging for money outside. In the original report, the officer said Katie McCrary had walked past him, attempted to push him out of the way, and reached out to grab his badge, radio, and vest. There is no evidence that McCrary committed any of these offenses against the officer, yet she was still charged with obstruction of justice. Months later, footage from a bystander’s cell phone had surfaced that shows the police officer beating her to a pulp inside the gas station and has stirred up mixed emotions from Georgia law enforcement and journalists. What really hit me hard was in the video the white officer threatens to shoot her as she asks him what she did wrong. Not only did the white officers in both cases wrongly use their power to inflict pain on their victims and took their harassment way too far, but also the victims’ voices were not heard by other members of law enforcement and other larger institutions. This is the problem many Black women face when they encounter situations with police officers that result in these women of color’s fear and hatred of all law enforcement.

Shown above: Police officer beating Katie McCary with his baton 

Link to video/news article: http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/11/us/georgia-police-beating/index.html

Part 4:

What current efforts are being made to ensure that marginalized communities (specifically those of Black women) are protected from hateful/unlawful violence from both men and higher institutions (police, media, government)?